Live Updates: Rosetta Spacecraft's Philae Makes Historic Comet Landing

Rosetta tweets! In January, the spacecraft "woke up" after a 31-month long hibernation period, tweeting "Hello World."

Rosetta made history in August when it became the first probe to rendezvous with a comet as it journeyed around the sun. It has been in an elliptical orbit around the comet since then, with the closet point being about 18 miles.

The Philae probe has a harpoon that can penetrate up to 2 meters into the comet. It's also equipped with an accelerometer that can measure the hardness of the comet.

Want to hear what the 67P comet sounds like? Check out the audio here.

Survival of the Philae lander is dependent on several factors, including power supply, temperature, and surface activity 67P, according to the European Space Agency. The ESA notes that dust could potentially cover the solar panels and prevent the battery from recharging. Even if everything goes according to plan, it's expected Philae will be too hot to operate when the comet gets close to the sun next March.

"The solar system is mankind's. This is our first step to take it...It's these steps that will lead us beyond this planet and onto Mars....It is our destiny to move off this planet," NASA's Dr. Jim Green just said.

One last update on Philae before the champagne toast: ESA can confirm it had a soft landing but may need to reshoot its anchors. For now -- the team is raising a glass as they wait for the first photos from the comet's surface to be transmitted back to Earth.